Gear Matters

In preparing for Advance 09 and Re:Sound, I’m working on a lot of logistical details. The bands from Sojourn, Mars Hill and @V21Church will all be sharing backline gear – amps, keys, drums – and my goal is that the switching between bands will go as smooth as possible, both at DPAC and the Re:Sound event at The Summit’s Briar Creek Campus. The organizing of these details may seem tedious, but dealing with musical gear is actually a great deal of fun. I’ve always enjoyed learning more about instruments, amps and pedals, and spend a good bit of free time researching, playing and saving up for pedals specifically.

Why does it matter?

People understand the limitations of voice; there are songs that lose a lot when bringing it down to a key our congregation can sing in, so it’s not worth singing. The same principles apply to musical instrumentation and gear. Without understanding the limitations of your gear the music, and as result the worship experience, can be affected. This was made clear to me a while back when we introduced Ex Nihilo’s version of “Here Is Love” to the congregation. What makes this song so powerful is the combination of the beats with the texture of the guitar feedback. When visiting Mars Hill last summer, it was amazing to hear this live. This song didn’t translate to the @V21Church congregation with the same power, and that was due to a difference in gear. Steven Suits and I play Telecasters with single-coil pickups, which is a marked difference than the “hot” pickups of the Gretschs and Gibsons played by Pastor Tim Smith. In addition, a smaller space means less amp volume, which makes those guitar tones more difficult to achieve. So while we were able to play and worship through this rendition of this beautiful hymn, we lost a great deal of the power behind the arrangement. Looking back, I wish I’d spent more time considering these differences.

This is yet another example of contextualization – not only should you consider your local culture and the makeup of your congregation, but also your strengths and weaknesses in musical ability,  and the practical implications of your gear.